Australian Motorcycle News

WELL, WE made it to the end of another year although, looking back, at times I find myself wondering how the hell we managed to do it. I reckon 2023 was about as busy as it can get in the world of motorcycling. Coming off the back of the two previous

Editor Dean Mellor Deputy Editor Kel Buckley Sub Editor Hamish Cooper Road Test Editor Pete Vorst Founding Editor George Lynn Art Director Brendon Wise Sir Alan Cathcart, Michael Scott, Ben Purvis, Mat Oxley, Neil Morrison, Adam Child, Gold&Goose, Go

TRIUMPH RE ENTERED the single cylinder market with the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 earlier this year and now it looks like a café racer is being added to the range – potentially getting the Thruxton 400 name, although it’s not confirmed. Spotted on t

PIAGGIO’S PLANS to revive the Gilera brand using its Chinese facilities and recycled Aprilia components has taken a step forward with published design registrations for two potential styles for the upcoming bike. The ‘Gilera’ name reappeared on a lar

LANGEN MOTORCYCLES is a boutique brand that emerged in V-twin and for 2025 the British company plans to expand its range with an 1190cc four-stroke using a Buell engine using the same lightweight engineering ideas. 2020 with a 250cc two-stroke Dubbed

China’s Zontes has long been open about its plans to develop a range of three cylinder models ranging from 600cc to 1000cc. This is in response to criticism that its existing all-singles line-up – which until recently topped out at 350cc – doesn’t co

THE 500CC Benelli sportsbike unveiled at this year’s EICMA show in Milan will be available in Australia as a 2024 model. Powered by a Euro 5+-compliant 500cc parallel-twin engine that’s good for 35kW (47hp) at 8500rpm and 46Nm at 6000rpm, the fully-f

We broke news about a new motorcycle and neither we nor Suzuki could have ever foreseen just how popular this model would become. Following on the heels of Suzuki’s TL1000-engined V-Strom 1000, we brought you the news of the impending release of a V-

ON THE subject of ’Busa tinkering, for me, the ‘SuperBusa’ from UK performance house TTS is the king. I’d sell my firstborn to have one of these 283kW (380hp) supercharged beasts in my shed. TTS has gone to town on the engine, chassis and brakes on t

AGE 56 WEIGHT 77kg HEIGHT 167cm EXPERIENCE Hooked by an XR75 as a kid, Deano got into roadbikes in his 20s. He has tested bikes for various publications since the 1990s and now sits at the AMCN Ed’s Desk. AGE 48 WEIGHT 105kg HEIGHT 186cm EXPERIENCE P

$34,715 (ride away)* *location dependant Fitting a superbike engine to a nakedbike is nothing new but it usually comes with a retune resulting in a broader spread of torque and less peak power, unless of course Ducati is doing it. Now BMW has caught

$41,400 (ride away) The latest incarnation of the Ducati Diavel does away with the previous model’s 1260cc Testastretta V-twin and in its place is a retuned version of the 1158cc Granturismo V4 engine. Although it only gets a modest increase in power

$18,590 (ride away) The V-Strom 800DE was our clear winner when we put Honda’s new Transalp and the Suzuki up against each other and so it made the cut for MOTY. The Suzuki and Honda are pretty even when you’re on-road but the Suzuki really shines of

Capacity 659cc Type Parallel twin, DOHC, four valves per cylinder Bore & stroke 81 x 63.93mm Compression ratio 13.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI, 2 x 48mm throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Chain Power

The judges have cast their votes, the scores have been tallied and the incredible BMW M 1000 R is AMCN’s 2023 Motorcycle of the Year (MOTY) presented by Shannons Insurance. Incredible because just like Jekyll and Hyde, the M 1000 R can quickly transf

THAT TIME OF year again, hey? Time to think about next year’s plan once the festive fridge runs dry. Trouble is, with the pace forced by Santa’s visit, time to think at this end of the year is as rare as Trump’s truisms. But not for me. Not this year

IT WAS AN epic MotoGP season. More than double the number of races led to more than double the excitement (and more than double the amount of injuries); while the new format kept the title open until the last of a record 20 races. Season 2024 champio

IT TOOK Ducati some time in WorldSBK to overcome the upstarts from Aprilia, Kawasaki and Yamaha after Carlos Checa had become champ in what was a magical 2011 season for him and his 1098R. Last year’s clear title win was therefore especially signific

SMALL BUT important tech changes/allowances for the Ducati V2 at the start of this year turned the ‘little’ Panigale into the largely dominant machine it threatened to be in 2022. The proof of this was twofold; firstly, Nicolo Bulega – who didn’t win

IT WAS THE first time the mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship had ever entered the final round with the top two riders locked together on points. Not only was the 2023 title at stake, but Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss had announced he wou

FRANCESCO BAGNAIA (Lenovo Ducati) is the 2023 MotoGP world champion. And after a ridiculous weekend, high on drama, concluded with him scoring a hard-fought victory that was contested up until the championship’s final corner, not one of the 93,044 fa

THE BEND played host to a variety of returned international Aussies in the Supersport class, including last year’s double winner Harrison Voight (Voight Contracting) but nobody could weaken the resolve of Cameron Dunker and his GTR MotoStars team to

CONCESSIONS HAVE been announced for 2024 in a bid to fast track the development of Honda and Yamaha. Split into four ranks, Rank A pertains to manufacturers who scored more than 85 percent of the total points: Ducati, and is limited to 170 test tyres

RNF APRILIA was thrown into crisis in Valencia as it emerged team principal Razlan Razali left amid rumours. “It has been an amazing run,” posted Razali on social media. “A once in a lifetime opportunity to manage and own a MotoGP team in the world c

WHERE WILL Tom Toparis end up next year? His aim is to head back to the BSB paddock, but that takes substantial funds, particularly being an Aussie with limited pull with British sponsors. Toparis has hinted he may just stay in Australia. Which leads

LEADING DIRT track racer Grant Charnock was seriously injured in a crash during the second day of the Victorian Dirt Track Championships at Broadford on 19 November. Grant was flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital where he has undergone surgery for his i

ASBK SUPERSPORT Champion Cameron Dunker had another reason to smile at The Bend’s ASBK finale on Sunday 3 December. As well as being his 16th birthday, Dunker was also voted the recipient of the annual RK Chains Samurai Award – thanks to Link Interna